SERC Reliability Corporation

What it reported doing in 2025

The compliance monitoring and enforcement program (cmep) is the largest program area at serc, and is implemented pursuant to serc's delegation agreement and the nerc uniform cmep developed under section 215(c) of the federal power act and approved by the federal energy regulatory commission. The serc cmep is implemented by personnel that are independent of stakeholders and registered entities. The serc cmep is further divided into five areas: compliance monitoring; compliance programs and services; entity assessment and mitigation; organization registration and certification; and enforcement.1.) the compliance monitoring area is responsible for conducting compliance audits, spot checks, and compliance investigations; for serving as subject matter experts for all standards; and for implementing the process for technical feasibility exceptions (tfe) to the nerc critical infrastructure protection (cip) reliability standards.2.) the compliance programs and services area is responsible for implementing and deploying cmep-related analytics and compliance assessments.3.) the entity assessment and mitigation area is responsible for implementing and deploying entity inherent risk assessments (ira) and internal controls evaluations (ice); for serving as the single point of contact for all non-compliance issues discovered and/or self-reported to the region; for determining the complete scope of violations; for determining the actual and potential risk posed by violations to bps reliability; and for reviewing registered entity mitigating activities to ensure that entities correct issues and prevent recurrence through appropriate mitigation.4.) the organization registration and certification area is responsible for registering owners, operators, and users of the bps required to comply with nerc reliability standards; and for certifying applicable entities who perform reliability-related functions.5.) the enforcement area evaluates all possible violations of reliability standards by serc registered entities and conducts a thorough assessment to determine if a violation actually occurred. The enforcement staff notifies the registered entity of its findings regarding the violation and any applicable penalties or sanctions. The enforcement staff may also engage in settlement negotiations with the registered entity. The proposed enforcement action, along with any proposed penalty or sanctions, is submitted to nerc for its review and approval, and subsequent submittal to ferc. If a registered entity challenges the findings of the violation and/or penalty, the enforcement staff prosecutes the case before a hearing body made up of representatives from the nerc board of trustees and serc board of directors.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 56.8%; rating input score 57
• Program expense ratio: 55.4%; rating input score 55
• Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Pass
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -0.9%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.96; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.58; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 14.9%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: Limited
• Revenue growth: 7.3% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings